Quote:
"Which rather implies that you consider the risk of hijack on any given flight is more severe than the risk of electrical fire on board. I am not sure that would stand up to statistical scrutiny, probably by a factor of several thousand - even if the "no-off" transponder was a sure fire deterrent of hijack, which clearly it is not."
Electronics is my area of expertise. First, low-power devices pose little fire risk. Second, there are hundreds of such devices on any given commercial jet- phones, laptops, etc- which the pilot cannot turn off. Adding one more won't make any difference.
Third, the technology is readily available and cheap. Something like a $150 SPOT beacon could report periodically, somewhat like a transponder. Smart people can work out the details and address legitimate concerns, but it's nuts not to track every airliner in the post- 9/11 era.